The Arizona Diamondbacks’ 2025 postseason hopes came to a definitive end on Friday night with a 7-4 defeat at the hands of the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.
Having mounted a valiant effort down the stretch, the loss, combined with a Cincinnati Reds victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, mathematically eliminated Arizona from playoff contention with two games remaining in the regular season. Even if the Diamondbacks had won their final two games, the Reds would hold the tiebreaker, leaving Arizona unable to advance.
The Diamondbacks jumped out to an early 2-0 lead against San Diego, thanks to solo home runs from Ketel Marte and Jake McCarthy. However, the momentum shifted in the fourth inning. Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr., returning after missing the previous two games due to illness, came to the plate with the bases loaded. On the ninth pitch of his at-bat, Tatis crushed a 3-2 pitch off Diamondbacks starter Zac Gallen into left-center field for a grand slam, putting the Padres ahead 5-2 and effectively swinging the game out of Arizona’s reach.
Gallen, in what may have been his final start for Arizona, began the game with 3.1 scoreless innings but struggled in the fourth. He allowed seven hits, three walks, and five earned runs over 4.1 innings, raising his season ERA to 4.83.
The Diamondbacks’ bullpen experienced varied results. Philip Abner recorded two outs but walked in a run, Juan Morillo and Andrew Saalfrank each threw scoreless innings, and Ryan Thompson gave up a run in the eighth, his first earned run since September 7. Mason Miller closed out the ninth to secure the 7-4 Padres victory.
Arizona showed some fight late in the game. In the eighth inning, the Diamondbacks loaded the bases with two outs, pulling to within 6-4 after a series of walks by Ketel Marte, Corbin Carroll, and others. However, Jorge Barrosa struck out against Miller to end the threat. The D-backs also made several baserunning errors, including three outs on the bases and a costly fielding mistake by shortstop Geraldo Perdomo in the fifth inning.
The season for Arizona was bookended by extremes. At 51-59 following a post-Trade Deadline loss, the team appeared out of contention. Yet the Diamondbacks rallied impressively, going 29-22 after trading away Merrill Kelly, Eugenio Suarez, and Josh Naylor, briefly climbing back into the Wild Card conversation. By Wednesday of this week, they were within striking distance, even having a chance to walk off against the Los Angeles Dodgers in extra innings, but ultimately ended up short in three consecutive games to end their playoff push.
The Diamondbacks finish the season at 80-80, standing as the earliest postseason elimination for the team since 2022.
